Final Request
by zanmato337
Summary: Cloud has a dream about Aeris...that was more than just a dream. He sets out on a journey to revive her. [In Limbo]
1. The Dream

"Final Request"

**By: J. Williams**

**[Cloud_Strife_73@hotmail.com][1]**

** **

# I loved her, even though I didn't know it at first. Didn't even realize that fact 'till it was too late. Now I'll never have a chance to say it. She's gone and I'll never have a chance to live my life with her by my side. If only… Ifonly I had been there to protect her.

These were Cloud's last thoughts before he went into another troubled sleep, six months after Sephirothwas conquered.

The young ex-SOILDER looked around him. This wasn't a normal dream, he thought.

Normally, they were terrible nightmares of Nibleheim burning to the ground or of Aeris dying in his arms. But this dream was different. Looking around, he noticed with a shock that he was at the last place he expected to be. He had arrived at Aeris' church. Almost unconsciously he started walking forward towards the fallen Cetra's flowerbed. Bending over he gently took a red rose and placed it in his pocket. 

"_Cloud._" A voice Cloud didn't think he'd ever hear again broke the silence.

Could it be? , Cloud wondered. Turning around ,he saw none other than Aeris. She smiled and began to walk forward, although Cloud was still standing there, stunned.

Then, Aeris started to speak again.

_"Cloud, first off, this isn't a regular dream."_ Cloud looked puzzled but she continued anyhow._ "It's called a Final Request", in which a Cetra gets one chance to be brought back to the land of the living by the person they loved most. However the only way to do it is lost in Buhagen's writings in Cosmo Canyon. I can't tell you anything else, I'm afraid._" She paused then added,_ "Please Cloud, I would like to live a life with you in peace. It's my only wish"_

_ _

_"I'll do every thing in my power to bring you back…because Ilove you"_ Cloud finally got his voice back.

_ _

_Thank you. _Aeris whispered, then dissapered as suddenlyas she had come. Cloud then woke up.

"I have to find the way to revive Aeris" Cloud said the next morning. " I guess its off to Cosmo Canyon" 

As he got up, he noticed something in his hand…a red rose. He went to get dressed, as if the fate of the planet was riding on his shoulders…again.

End of Chapter I

   [1]: mailto:Cloud_Strife_73@hotmail.com



	2. The Gathering of Companions

Chapter 2

"Cloud, are you sure about this?" Tifa asked as she poured Cloud a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, Tifa. It's something I have to do"

She looked sad at that. She knew that Cloud loved her, only not in the same way he loved Aeris ,the way she wanted him to.She had never disliked Aeris, even though they both liked Cloud. If she couldn't have him though, she thought that Aeris deserved him just as much, or even more so than she did.

"Well, do you need any help? Red XIII will probably be a big help", Tifa finally said.

Cloud was finishing off his coffee. He finished, then said, "Yeah ,he will. Well, do you want to come too? You'll be a big help too, you know." He smiled as he noticed she was blushing. "Well, I'll go find Red." 

She got up as he exited the villa, and cleared the table, smiling.

Cloud found Red, who was playing ball with two local youngsters outside of Johnny's house.

After he explained the situation, Red agreed and spoke.

"Well, Cloud, there's a lot about the Cetra there and I guess I could be of some help. I would be overjoyed to have Aeris back, you know." 

Any body could tell Red was excited. He was as hyper and excited as when he returned to Cosmo Canyon for the first time since Hojo captured him. Of course, he tried to hide it, attempting to be serious as always, but it showed anyway.

Cloud laughed at his overeagerness, because it reminded him of himself when he first joined SOILDER. 

"Well lets go get Tifa and get a move on" 

They got Tifa at the villa, packed a few things, and set off into the horizon. 

End of CH. 2


	3. Arrival at Cosmo Canyon

Chapter 3

Arrival at Cosmo Canyon

The three adventurers arrived at North Corel with little trouble, except for Cloud almost falling through a rotten board of the old roller coaster track (much to Cloud's embarrassment). They stopped and spoke to Barret, who was excited about the news and wished them well. When they finally reached Cosmo Canyon, they decided to stay at the inn for the night, and begin searching in the morning. Once they settled down, Cloud began to speak.

"So where should we look first?" he mused.

Red replied after a moment of thought.

"There's an expert on the Cetra here. He worked with Grandpa and has a lot of information on the Cetra. We should contact him first."

"I guess." Cloud said. "But I think we should turn in for now."

They all agreed and soon fell into a deep slumber, filled with hopes of getting Aeris back.

End of Chapter 3


	4. Searching for clues

Ch. 4

Searching for clues

Cloud and the others woke up the next morning with the arrival of the morning sun. After breakfast they went to talk to the elder who specialized in the Cetra.

"Ah, Nananki, how are you? Its been quite a while, and I see you brought some of your friends with you as well." , the old elder said , rising from behind a desk covered with research papers.

"Um...hi. I'm Cloud Strife and this is my friend Tifa and back when Sephiroth was terrorizing the world with Meteor , he killed my friend Aeris , and I'm searching for a way to bring her back." Cloud stammered, not ready to explain the situation so suddenly.

"The Cetra girl? Her mother was Ilfalna, am I right? But, back to the subject. Yes there is a way to revive Aeris. The process is not very difficult, but the materials are very difficult to obtain." The elder's eyes narrowed as he took on a serious tone. "This task should only be attempted by someone who would stop at nothing to have the girl alive again."

"I would do anything to get her back...I love her." Cloud said, obvious emotion straining his speech.

"Yeah." Tifa and Red agreed.

The elder nodded. "Well, I'll explain the process. There are 4 items you must obtain. Each is symbolic of something. The first is the Desert Rose, symbolic of this land which her race created. Second, the Earth harp, which stands for the ground from whence we all came. And third, a personal item of Aeris' that meant a lot to her."

"We already obtained the Earth harp and Desert Rose from fighting the Emerald and Ruby WEAPONS. So that leaves a personal posession-" Cloud trailed off.

"What really meant a lot to her?" Tifa mumbled.

"Besides Cloud?" Red replied, trying to inject a little humor into the serious conversation.

"Her mother's materia.." Cloud said, oblivious to the wisecrack Red just said. "The first time I met her, she said she didn't know how to use it. When I asked why she had it if she didn't know how to use it. She said it was her mother's, and it made her feel safe and meant a whole lot to her."

"Well how the %$#^ are you gonna get to it. It's in the %$#%ing pond at the Forgotten City!" A familiar voice said from the door.

End of ch.4


	5. Setting out

Ch. 5

Setting out.

The party spun around.

"Cid!" The party yelled.

"Damn, who'd ya think it was, Odin and his *&^%in' 6-legged freak show of a horse?!?!? Of course it's me ya bunch of numskulls!" Cid replied.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud asked.

"I heard from Barret that you guys were out to try and resurrect Aeris, and I decided to come and help out. Unfortunately, someone else decided to tag along-" Cid was cut short by an angry voice from downstairs.

"PUT THAT MATERIA BACK!!!" the materia salesman yelled.

Yuffie ran inside the room and locked the door. "phew...least...I...got...the...materia.." she said gasping for breath. She looked up to see the group staring at her oddly. "What?"

"Same ol' Yuffie..." Red laughed.

The whole party burst out laughing, at Yuffie's expense.

"So, how are you gonna get to that materia? It's underwater, for chrissakes! Cid restarted the conversation.

"When we go to get the Desert Rose and the Earth Harp, we can get the Underwater Materia also from that old coot we left them with." Red replied.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Tifa said, sounding more optimistic than ever now.

"Well, it's off to Kalm for you all. Good luck." The elder said while shaking all of their hands.

"We can use the Highwind." Cid said.

"Aww, mannn!" Yuffie whined. 

"Well let's get a move on." Cloud said exiting the room.

"YEAH!" everyone else said, following Cloud.

Once they had left the elder muttered under his breath, "The young man already has the fourth item, and more than enough of it, even if he doesn't realize it yet." Then , he sat down and continued with his work.

**Once inside the Highwind, they immediately set out for Kalm. Will they be able to get there in time? Will Yuffie be able to avoid hurling on Cid?!? Find out in Chapter VI!!!**


	6. Almost there...

Ch. 6

Almost there...

Two days later the party arrived in Kalm, and got a room at the inn to rest for the night. Cid hogged the bathroom for two hours because Yuffie threw up all over him.

"Damn kid...." Cid muttered in the shower.

Yuffie, who was lying on one of the beds with an icepack on her head sat up and yelled "I CAN'T HELP IT, AND YOU KNOW THAT!!"

Everyone else was sitting around talking, waiting for Cloud to return from talking to the old man.

"Well, sure thing you can have these back...I couldn't figure out what to do anyway..." The old man said after hearing Cloud's tale. "You and 'er must really love each other eh?

"Um, yes. Listen, how can I repay you?" Cloud was embarrassed because the old man saw right through him. 

"There's no need to repay me sonny. Just the fact that I'm helping two lovebirds be reunited is reward enough." The old man said chuckling, noticing Cloud's scarlet face. He handed Cloud the Underwater materia, the Desert Rose and the Earth harp, which Cloud placed in a satchel he had brought along.

"Thanks, Sir." Cloud said as he walked out the door. "wait." The old man stopped Cloud. "You take care of Aeris, you hear. Don't let her get away." Cloud smiled. "You can bet on that. Thanks again." He exited and ran back to the inn.

Cloud burst in the room.

"What the...?!?" Red awoke with a start. "Oh, you're back."

"It's time at last..." Tifa murmured.

"I hope it works...I don't know what I'd do if it didn't" Cloud said with a sigh.

Yuffie got up and hugged Cloud, trying to console him. "It'll work Cloud. I know it will."

Cid came out of the bathroom, fully dressed (thank God, Yuffie thought) in clean clothes, and said enthusiastically "Well, lets get a move on, then!"

Vincent spoke up" Cloud, if you're going to have to go into that lake you're going to have to hurry because that materia's only good for twenty minutes at a time."

Cloud thought for a second " The water's pretty clear, so I'll do it during high noon, so I'll have the best visibility..."

"Good thinking, Cloud. If we leave now, we can get there by nightfall and tomorrow we'll attempt it." said Red, as he glanced out the window at the darkening sky.

"Well, we wont know until we try, so let's go!" Cid exclaimed while walking down the stairs.

Cloud followed Cid almost immediately, and everyone else followed silently to the airship and set off to the City of the Ancients.

End of Chapter 6


End file.
